Get ready to hop on MENA’s first luxury sleeper train. Due to begin service in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2025, the expectation is that the ‘Dream of the Desert’ will enter the pantheon of iconic rail journeys like the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the Royal Scotsman, and Africa’s Rovos Rail.
With a design that is said to be inspired by “Saudi style and tradition,” the train will start with 40 sophisticated carriages, carrying 82 passengers, and its one- or two-day 1,300km route will begin in the capital, Riyadh, and travel northwest to Al Qurayyat near the border with Jordan, taking stops at Al Qassim, Ha’il and Al Jouf, along the way.

Dream of the Desert is a joint venture partnership between the ambitious new state-owned railway company Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) and the Italian hospitality company Arsenale Group.